| Abstract Detail
Seed Biology Elwell, Angela [1], Durham, Tessa L. [2], Miller, Nathan D. [3], Spalding, Edgar [4]. Environmental Effects on Seed Size and Effects of Seed Size on Seedling Development in Arabidopsis. The extent to which environmental factors during seed production affect development of the next-generation of seedlings is poorly understood in Arabidopsis. Such influences, however, could have significant bearing on genetic studies aimed at determining specific roles of genes in developmental pathways. The first part of this study aims to describe the effects of environment on the size, number, and weight of seeds produced. Arabidopsis seedlings were grown to maturity in three chambers that differed with respect to lighting, humidity, and temperature. The number of seeds produced by plants in each chamber was determined. Seed size was determined by analyzing digital scans of seed populations with custom image analysis software. Analysis of data from each chamber indicated a significant difference in seed size that could mainly be attributed to an effect of temperature. The second part of this study aims to determine how seed size affects the germination, root growth, gravitropism, and flowering time of the plant. These developmental processes will be compared in plants grown from small seeds from all three environments to those of big seeds from all three environments. The overall purpose is to understand the extent to which environment during the previous generation acts through seed size to affect the growth and development of the subsequent generation. This study could be scaled up to a community project in which seed production and environmental data from growth chambers across the Arabidopsis community are compiled to enable shared analysis via a web-based interface.
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1 - University of Wisconsin - Madison, Department of Botany, 430 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, U.S.A
2 - University of Wisconsin - Madison, Department of Botany and Cellular and Molecular Biology Program
3 - University of Wisconsin - Madison, Departments of Botany and Biomedical Engineering
4 - University of Wisconsin - Madison, Department of Botany, 430 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI 53706 U.S.A
Keywords:
environmental effects
seed size
seedling development.
Presentation Type: Plant Biology Abstract
Session: P
Location: Exhibit Hall (Northeast, Southwest & Southeast)/Hilton
Date: Sunday, July 8th, 2007
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: P01048
Abstract ID:2197 |
